THE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UHlVfB'ITY  OF  IlLIHniS 


THE  INVITATION  OP  THE  CHURCH. 


A 


SERMON, 


PREACHED  IN  THE 


CHAPEL  OF  YALE  COLLEGE; 


APRIL  4th,  1858, 

I, 

THEODORE  D.  WOOLSEY. 


-  ■+++ - 

PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


NEW  HAYEN: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THOMAS  II.  PEASE. 

T.  J.  STAFFORD,  PRINTER. 

1858. 


THE  INVITATION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


A 


PREACHED  IN  THE 


CHAPEL  OF  YALE  COLLEGE, 


APRIL  4th,  1858, 


BY 


THEODOEE  D.  WOOLSEY. 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


NEW  HAVEN: 

PUBLISHED  BY  THOMAS  H.  PEASE. 

T.  J.  STAFFORD,  PRINTER. 


1858. 


DISCOURSE. 


NUMBERS,  x.  29.* 

AND  MOSES  SAID  UNTO  HOBAB,  THE  SON  OF  RAGUEL  THE  MIDIANITE,  MOSES’  FATHER- 
IN-LAW,  WE  ARE  JOURNEYING  UNTO  THE  PLACE  OF  WHICH  THE  LORD  SAID,  I  WILL  GIVE 
IT  YOU  :  COME  THOU  WITH  US  AND  WE  WILL  DO  THEE  GOOD  :  FOR  THE  LORD  HATH 
SPOKEN  GOOD  CONCERNING  ISRAEL. 

These  words  of  invitation,  addressed  by  Moses  to  bis  rela¬ 
tive,  can  be  used  without  doing  violence  to  their  spirit,  as  an 
invitation  of  the  Church  to  men  in  the  world  around  them. 
It  is  one  of  the  treasures  and  the  beauties  of  the  Bible  that 
the  old  dispensation  was  fitted  to  prefigure  and  reflect  the 
new.  Hence,  although  it  has  passed  away  and  given  place  to 
the  more  glorious  economy  of  Christ,  its  facts  and  institutions 
are  still  fresh  and  living,  having  Christian  truth  engrafted  on 
them.  Thus  Israel  represents  the  Church  ;  the  desert  stands 
for  the  pilgrimage  of  this  life ;  the  river  of  Jordan  for  the 
stream  of  death ;  Mount  Zion  for  the  celestial  city.  In  fact, 
we  can  scarcely  talk  the  language  of  religion,  still  less  the 
language  of  religious  feeling,  which  shows  itself  in  sacred 
poetry,  without  having  recourse  to  expressions  borrowed  from 
the  history  of  God’s  ancient  people. 

Having  thus  a  right  to  make  such  use  of  our  text,  we  shall 
regard  it  as  equivalent  in  meaning  to  one  of  the  closing  pas¬ 
sages  of  the  Hew  Testament, — “  the  spirit  and  the  bride  say 
come.”  The  bride,  the  Church,  says  come  with  us  and  we 
will  do  thee  good,  whenever  any  of  its  members,  in  its  spirit) 
like  Moses,  invites  his  friends  to  partake  of  its  blessings ;  when¬ 
ever  any  of  its  ministers  invites  those  who  are  out  of  its  fold 
to  enter  and  taste  of  its  security  and  its  blessedness ;  above  all, 
when  by  its  sacred  symbols  of  a  death  which  unites  God’s  scat- 


4 


tered  people  in  one,  it  calls  on  all  to  join  themselves  to  Christ 
and  to  the  society  which  he  has  instituted  among  mankind. 

Standing  over  these  sacred  symbols  this  day,  I  ask  you  in 
the  name  of  Christ’s  people,  as  Moses  asked  Hobab,  to  go  with 
us.  We  are  journeying  through  this  world  to  a  place  which 
God  has  promised  to  give  us.  Join  us,  for  we  will  do  you  good ; 
for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning  his  Israel. 

In  this  invitation  which  the  Church  makes  to  those  who 
belong  not  to  its  society,  it  appeals,  as  Moses  did,  to  many  of 
those  who  are  connected  with  its  members  by  various  natural 
ties.  When  the  Christian  commonwealth  is  gathered  out  of 
the  world,  its  citizens  do  not  emigrate  to  some  happy  valley  or 
sequestered  plain  where  a  perfect  polity  can  be  established ; 
they  do  not  pass  away  at  once  to  the  heavenly  city,  but  stay, 
as  they  were,  amid  all  the  relations  and  sympathies  of  this 
earthly  life.  Loves  and  companionships  touch  their  hearts  as 
before,  only  they  desire  a  better  portion  for  their  friends,  even 
that  which  they  have  found  themselves.  Conceive  of  your¬ 
selves,  therefore,  my  friends,  as  surrounded  with  those  who  do 
not,  because  they  have  found  a  better  portion,  lose  their  inter¬ 
est  in  you  ;  who  do  not  give  up  their  regard  for  earthly  friends 
because  they  have  found  heavenly  ones.  It  is  characteristic  of 
Christianity,  that  when  it  reclaims  one  mind  from  a  world  of 
sinners,  it  implants  the  desire  in  him  to  persuade  others  to 
share  the  same  joys  and  hopes.  Andrew,  Simon  Peter’s  broth¬ 
er,  first  found  his  own  brother  Simon  and  said  unto  him,  ‘  we 
have  found  the  Messias.’  Philip  findeth  Nathanael  and  saith 
unto  him,  6  we  have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and 
the  prophets  did  write;’  and  when  Nathanael  began  to  hesi¬ 
tate,  Philip  saith,  come  and  see.  As  soon  as  Saul  of  Tarsus 
became  a  follower  of  Christ,  straightway  he  preached  Christ 
in  the  synagogues — that  he  is  the  son  of  God.  This  type  of 
primeval  Christianity  must  be  found  more  or  less  in  all  who 
receive  the  same  truths  and  partake  of  the  same  spirit.  Is  it 
strange  then  that  your  friends  here  around  you — that  your  com¬ 
panions,  your  classmates,  should  have  the  same  desire  for  you, 
should  ask  you  to  join  them,  should  rejoice  when  you  comply  ? 
Is  not  what  you  have  seen  here  within  these  few  days  the  in- 


5 


evitable  result  of  Christian  feeling ;  and  even  should  you  de¬ 
cline,  would  you  not  be  forced  in  all  honesty  to  say  that  they 
felt  and  did  what  they  ought,  that  if  they  were  unsuccessful 
and  possibly  unwise,  they  were  at  least  friends  to  you  ? 

Thus  the  Church  through  all  those  ties  of  love  and  sympa¬ 
thy  which  keep  the  world  together,  invites  men  to  join  its 
brotherhood.  Let  us  now  consider,  after  the  order  of  the  text, 
to  what,  and  why  it  makes  the  invitation. 

I.  To  what  does  it  invite  ?  This  is  told  in  the  words,  we  are 
journeying  unto  the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said ,  I  will  give 
it  you :  come  thou  with  us. 

Translated  into  the  language  of  the  ISTew  Testament,  these 
words  intend,  first,  that  the  followers  of  Christ  are  jour¬ 

neying  through  this  world  without  regarding  it  as  their  dwell¬ 
ing  place  ;  second ,  that  there  is  a  place  beyond  it,  made  known 
to  them  by  a  divine  promise,  where  they  hope  to  arrive  ;  and 
third,  that  no  one  can  reach  that  place  who  does  not  join  their 
company. 

First,  they  are  merely  travelers  through  this  world.  The  con¬ 
viction  is  not  confined  to  the  Church  of  God  that  there  is  noth¬ 
ing  earthly  worth  the  soul’s  best  affections  or  highest  pursuit, 
but  every  thoughtful  philosopher,  every  serious  poet  has  par¬ 
taken  of  the  same  feeling.  But  a  marked  difference  between 
them  and  Christians  is  that  the  latter  are  practical  and  definite, 
while  the  former  are  filled  with  vain  dreams,  or  proud  con¬ 
tempt  of  the  world,  or  moody  despair  of  anything  better.  An¬ 
other  marked  difference  lies  in  the  moral  and  religious  aim  of 
Christians.  The  world  they  view  as  a  state  of  blindness  and 
sin  ;  themselves  as  having  been  under  the  bondage  of  sin :  hav¬ 
ing  obtained  a  little  illumination  from  Christ,  the  light  of  this 
world,  and  longing  for  holiness,  they  pass  through  the  world 
as  a  place  where  all  their  capacities  are  weak ;  their  liunger- 
ings  for  righteousness  ungratified  ;  their  struggles  wfith  evil  un¬ 
successful  ;  their  nature  incapable  of  finding  true  rest.  Through 
such  a  world,  beautiful  to  the  eye  but  disappointing  to  the  soul, 
they  are  passengers. 

My  friends,  it  might  seem  bad  policy  to  talk  thus  of  the  world 
when  we  are  asking  you  to  set  out  with  us  on  your  journey  to 


6 


eternal  life.  But  I  ask  you  to  weigh  well  your  powers,  your 
aspiring  hopes,  your  “  thoughts  that  travel  through  eternity,” 
your  boundless  desires,  the  essential  everlasting  need  of  God’s 
love,  or  of  something  equally  great  to  satisfy  your  longings  ; 
weigh  well  these  unchangeable  facts,  and  decide  for  yourselves, 
whether  any  thing  or  all  things  worldly  can  content  you  if  they 
are  chosen  as  your  portion.  Stretch  your  scale  and  measure 
endless  life,  and  say  whether  an  immortal  being  in  the  remote 
cycles  of  his  existence  can  be  blessed  without  God  for  his  in¬ 
heritance.  Eternity — God!  There  is  some  proportion  between 
the  ideas.  Eternity — the  pleasures  of  this  world  !  there  is  none. 
Share  our  views  then  of  this  world,  of  its  solemnities,  of  its 
grand  issues  ;  and  if  the  pilgrim  spirit  thus  engendered  is  full 
of  seriousness,  it  shall  be  full  also  of  sublimity ;  it  shall  be  a 
worthy  lodger  in  your  soul ;  it  shall  by  and  by  grow  into  a 
glorious  j  oy . 

Again ,  when  the  Church  of  God  says,  we  are  journeying  to 
the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said,  I  will  give  it  you,  they  de¬ 
clare  themselves  to  be  hoping  for,  preparing  for,  hastening  unto 
heaven.  In  saying  this  1  do  not  mean  that  they  place  heaven 
vaguely  before  their  eyes  as  a  state  of  mere  bliss.  Oh,  how 
many  have  seen  heaven  thus  through  a  haze  or  taken  some¬ 
thing  else  for  it,  and  never  reached  the  true  city  of  God. 
Heaven  to  Christ’s  flock  is  something  more,  or  else  it  would 
be  nothing.  It  is  the  manifestation-place  of  God  and  Christ, 
the  dwelling  of  the  sanctified,  the  harbor  of  safety  from  sin? 
the  climate  and  soil  for  the  soul’s  boundless  growth,  in  all  ex¬ 
cellence.  And  therefore  it  is  a  place  of  rest  and  of  bliss.  Such 
a  place  God  has  told  them  of.  Such  a  place  alone  could  induce 
them  to  travel  as  pilgrims  through  this  world. 

And,  further,  when  the  Church  says  ‘  come  with  us,’  they 
express  the  conviction  that  there  is  no  attaining  to  salvation 
but  in  their  company,  by  the  means  which  they  employ.  By 
this,  they  do  not  mean  that  a  person  may  not  become  a  true 
follower  of  Christ  afar  from  ordinances  and  fellowship,  alone, 
as  on  the  sick-bed,  on  the  sea,  or  in  the  wilderness.  Every 
man  in  one  act,  must  be  alone,  as  far  as  his  fellow-men  are  con¬ 
cerned  :  in  the  great  decisive  act  of  cordial  faith  and  conse- 


7 


crating  love,  he  must  do  all  of  himself,  and  no  Christian  nor 
Church  can  do  aught  except  help  him  in  the  preparatory  steps. 
If  he  shrinks  hack  from  such  a  crisis  himself,  all  the  sympa¬ 
thy  and  companionship  in  the  world  can  do  nothing  for  him. 
What  they  mean,  however,  is  this  ;  that  as  they  are  followers 
of  Christ,  so  every  one  who  would  go  with  them  and  attain  to 
everlasting  life,  like  them  must  he  a  follower  of  Christ,  and 
must  begin  his  journey  by  a  personal  act  of  reliance  on,  and 
self- consecration  to  Christ.  Without  this,  there  is  no  oneness 
of  aim,  no  share  in  the  same  promises,  nor  common  hopes,  nor 
true  communion.  If  a  person  expects  to  attain  to  holiness  of 
life  in  any  other  way,  he  departs  from  the  path  of  Christ’s 
church,  and  either  he  or  they  ard  utterly  deluded.  There  is 
no  process  of  self-discipline  or  self-culture,  no  resoluteness  of 
will  to  live  a  good  life,  no  philosophy,  or  religion,  or  benevo¬ 
lence  which,  without  this  foundation,  will  not  lead  you  at  once 
to  a  wide  divergence  from  the  path  of  Christians — which  will 
not  alienate  you  from  them  and  finally  make  you  bitterly 
hostile. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  why  does  the  Church  invite  men  to 
join  her  ranks  ?  The  answer  is  given  in  the  words  ‘  Come  with 
us,  for  wTe  will  do  you  good,  for  the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  con¬ 
cerning  Israel.’  She  invites  in  order  that  in  sympathy  with 
her,  and  through  the  means  to  be  found  within  her  pale,  men 
may  partake  of  those  blessings  which  God  has  pledged  to  her 
in  the  promises  of  his  revelation. 

The  polity  .of  God’s  ancient  people  was  peculiarly  free  in 
admitting  new  comers  into  its  ranks,  by  what  may  be  called  its 
law  of  naturalization.  Take  a  passage  from  one  of  the  proph¬ 
ets,  for  an  example.  “  Also  the  sons  of  the  stranger  that  join 
themselves  to  the  Lord  to  serve  him  and  to  love  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  to  be  his  servants,  every  one  that  keepeth  the  Sab¬ 
bath  from  polluting  it  and  taketh  hold  of  my  covenant,  even 
them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy  mountain,  and  make  them  joyful 
in  my  house  of  prayer  :  their  burnt  offerings  and  their  sacri¬ 
fices  shall  be  accepted  upon  my  altar  ;  for  mine  house  shall  be 
called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  people.”  The  congregation  of 
Christ  shows  the  same  open-hearted  desire  that  all  should  par- 


8 


take  of  its  blessings.  It  opens  its  doors  for  every  stranger 
who  has  become  a  friend,  who  has  the  same  desires  and  aims 
with  those  who  already  have  believed  in  the  promises  of  God. 
And  why  should  it  not  ?  How  could  it  do  otherwise  ?  Since 
its  members  are  not  such  by  birth  nor  by  the  will  of  man,  but 
by  a  new  birth  of  God  ;  and  each  one  already  within  its  en¬ 
closure  has  entered  in  the  same  way.  It  would  be  to  deny  its 
nature  and  annihilate  itself,  if  it  looked  to  any  other  additions 
than  those  of  free  self-moved,  believing  minds. 

Let  none  suppose  then  that  this  willingness  to  have  its  num¬ 
bers  enlarged  springs  from  a  sectarian  spirit.  There  is  such  a 
spirit  in  the  world,  and  even  among  true  Christians  ;  but  over¬ 
ruling,  at  times  quenching  it,  there  is  a  spirit  of  broad  Chris¬ 
tian  love  which  rejoices  in  the  success  of  all  bodies  that  are 
loyal  to  Christ.  He  is  a  weak  Christian,  or  none  at  all,  who 
cannot  feel  this. 

Hor  let  it  be  thought  that  the  Church  in  making  its  invita¬ 
tion,  £  come  thou  with  us,’  is  seeking  for  credit  and  eclat  in  the 
world  ;  and  on  that  account  is  willing  to  receive  all  who  offer, 
into  its  fellowship.  The  new  members  whom  it  seeks  are 
those,  whether  few  or  many,  of  whatever  former  character  or 
life,  who  by  whatever  process  or  experience  of  heart,  slow  or 
quick,  clear  or  ill-defined,  have  freely  come  to  this  simple 
point  of  welcoming  Christ  as  the  Savior  from  sin  and  condem¬ 
nation.  It  seeks  for  these  or  none.  It  would  rejoice  to  see 
highly  endowed  persons  join  its  society,  but  rejects  them  if 
they  cannot  be  in  harmony  with  its  essential  Christianity.  It 
wants  no  half  Christians,  knowing  well  that  one  such  may  do 
more  harm  than  two  true  disciples  of  Christ  can  do  good,  and 
that  an  open  enemy  is  better  than  a  pretended  or  indifferent 
friend. 

Its  motives  then  point  not  back  to  itself,  but  outward  to  the 
good  of  those  whom  it  invites  to  join  its  society.  Let  us  pro¬ 
ceed  to  consider  some  of  the  particulars  in  which  that  good 
consists.  6  We  will  do  thee  good.’  4  The  Lord  hath  spoken 
good  concerning  Israel.’ 

1.  In  fellowship  with  the  Church  of  Christ  there  is  the  best 
opportunity  of  gaining  a  sure  knowledge  of  divine  truth.  It  is 


9 


freely  admitted  that  no  age,  sect,  church,  or  person  has  had 
truth  free  from  admixture  of  error  in  his  possession  ;  it  is 
granted  that  the  best  Christians  must  leave  a  multitude  of 
questions  unanswered  ;  that  very  many  passages  of  the  divine 
word  are  of  doubtful  meaning ;  and  that  the  divisions  of  the 
true  church  have  differed  greatly  in  opinion  from  one  another. 
It  may  be  that  this  will  continue  to  be  the  case  until  the  end 
of  time.  It  may  be,  if  there  is  to  be  an  age  of  greater  light, 
purity,  and  union,  as  we  confidently  anticipate,  that  even  then 
no  solution  of  many  of  the  questions,  which  embarrass  specu¬ 
lative  minds,  will  be  discovered.  And  yet,  notwithstanding 
all  this,  we  say  that  in  fellowship  with  Christians  there  is  a 
fair  prospect  of  being  established  in  all  essential  truth,  while 
a  mind  which  departs  to  a  distance  from  that  fellowship  cannot 
avoid  darkness,  doubt,  and  unbelief. 

In  weighing  the  good  to  be  derived  from  intercourse  with 
Christians  as  a  means  of  establishing  yourselves  in  the  truth, 
consider  that  no  one  is  sufficient  to  settle  the  system  of  truth 
by  his  own  unassisted  powers ;  that  the  evidence  of  religion 
does  not  suggest  itself  in  the  abstract  form  only,  but  also,  and 
much  more,  in  the  concrete ;  and  that  the  Church  has  been 
putting  to  the  test  the  practical  value  of  the  truth  since  the 
days  of  Christ. 

(a.)  Let  no  one  think  in  his  pride  that  he  is  able  to  judge 
correctly  of  religion  without  aid  from  his  fellow  men,  who 
have  thought  deeply  on  the  greatest  of  all  subjects.  Let  no 
one  determine  in  his  self-will  that  he  will  untie  for  himself, 
unhelped,  every  knot  before  making  his  way  to  Christ.  Such 
thoughts  are  as  foolish  as  they  are  dangerous.  The  philoso¬ 
pher  who,  if  it  were  possible  so  to  do,  should  throw  away 
every  rope  of  connection  with  other  speculators,  or  with  the 
practical  world,  would  sink  in  the  floods  of  falsehood :  the 
webs  he  wove  would  be  like  the  conceptions  of  children.  JSTor 
is  it  possible  to  come  in  entire  isolation,  with  perfect  independ¬ 
ence,  to  the  study  of  religious  truth.  A  man  imagines  not  what 
old  prejudices,  what  false  assumptions,  what  oft-refuted  explo¬ 
ded  errors  cling  to  him,  if  he  thinks  alone,  in  spite  of  all  his 
carefulness.  Many  a  person  has  carried  in  his  mind  for  years 


% 


10 


wliat  he  thought  an  unanswerable  objection  to  religion,  which 
a  little  converse  with  others  has  put  to  rest  at  once. 

(b.)  But  again,  religion  to  be  judged  of  fairly  needs  to  be  look¬ 
ed  at  in  the  concrete — in  the  life  of  religious  men,  as  well  as  in 
its  forms  of  abstract  statement.  We  test  the  principles  of  all 
religions  in  this  way,  and  convict  them  of  falsehood  when 
they  appear  as  corrupters,  rather  than  as  benefactors,  of  man¬ 
kind.  We  ask  concerning  each,  What  is  its  mode  of  opera¬ 
tion  on  human  life  ana  character?  Has  it  or  has  it  not  a 
power  to  raise  the  soul  which  acts  by  it,  above  the  dominion 
of  sin  and  earth  ?  Does  it  satisfy  those  spiritual  hungerings, 
which  man’s  nature  has  always  carried  within  itself,  and 
which  must,  in  the  end,  cause  the  rejection  of  a  religion  which 
does  not  give  them  a  lasting  supply?  Does  it  furnish  food  for 
man’s  intellect  in  any  ratio  to  the  capacities  with  which  he  is 
endowed,  or  will  he  outgrow  it,  as  he  becomes  advanced  in 
knowledge  ?  Does  it  quicken  or  deaden  his  conscience ; — 
having  satisfied  his  longing  for  pardon,  does  he  now  commit 
sin  with  greediness  because  salvation  is  easy,  or  live  a  holy 
life  because  he  partakes  of  the  character  of  God  his  Savior  ? 
Does  it  enlarge  a  man’s  affections  or  shrink  them  up  ?  Does  it 
rid  him  of  fear,  or  leave  him  a  prey  to  terrors  at  the  awful 
hour,  when  he  is  just  going  before  the  face  of  God  ? 

I  invite  you,  my  friends,  to  come  into  close  intercourse  with 
the  followers  of  Christ,  and  decide-  whether  the  answers  to 
these  questions  will  be  favorable  or  not  to  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel.  Select  the  best  among  your  Christian  friends,  and 
determine  whether  his  virtues  are  in  spite  of  his  religion,  or 
the  natural  fruit  of  his  religion  ?  Or  go  back  to  the  Savior 
from  whom,  as  the  germ,  all  truth,  as  we  claim  it  to  be,  and  all 
goodness,  have  flowed  down  through  the  ages  of  the  Church, 
and  then  say  whether  all  this  can  be  a  system  of  falsehood  ? 
Decide  whether  any  other  religion  known  to  mankind  can  pro¬ 
duce  such  results. 

(< c .)  I  add,  that  the  Christian  Church  has  been  testing  the  value 
of  the  doctrines  on  which  it  is  built  ever  since  the  days  of 
Christ.  It  has  had  a  longer  time  to  examine  the  effect  of  prin¬ 
ciples  on  character  than  almost  any  philosophy  or  any  intelli- 


V 


11 


gent  religion  besides  ;  it  claims  to  have  satisfied  the  wants  of 
man,  and  to  have  produced  characters  of  consummate  virtue.  If 
this  claim  had  turned  out  to  be  false,  Christianity,  as  it  rested 
on  its  native  excellence  for  its  defense,  could  not  have  survi¬ 
ved  the  third  century.  If  those  men,  like  Justin  Martyr  and 
many  others  of  the  early  Church,  who  carried  in  themselves  a 
longing  to  be  delivered  from  sin,  and  had  tried  philosophy 
only  to  abandon  it, — if  they  had  found  in  the  Gospel  also  no 
power  to  sanctify,  no  suitableness  to  their  wants,  no  quicken¬ 
ing  of  their  spiritual  natures,  and  had  given  up  this,  too,  in 
despair,  I  am  bold  to  say  that  Christ’s  name  long  ago  would 
have  dropped  out  of  history,  and  the  very  Gospels  have  been 
lost. 

Enter,  then,  my  friends,  into  communion  with  Christians 
true  to  their  profession,  and  they  will  place  before  you  the 
truth  ; — they  will  give  you  the  best  evidence  of  the  truth  which 
you  can  obtain,  until  by  actual  taste  and  experience  you  set  to 
your  seal  that  God  is  true. 

2.  But,  secondly,  the  Church  will  do  you  good  by  its  assist¬ 
ance  in  enabling  you  to  overcome  sin  and  to  make  progress  in 
godliness.  This  help  it  secures  to  those  who  share  its  society 
in  various  ways, — one  of  which  is  that  it  affords  you  a  shelter 
among  godly  companions,  against  temptation.  Great  as  the 
plague  of  our  evil  hearts  has  been  in  itself,  it  has  been 
mightily  strengthened  by  the  suggestions  of  sinners.  We  may 
remember  a  time  perhaps,  when  an  evil  practice  was  caught, 
like  a  pestilence,  from  some  companion,  or  when  an  evil  sug¬ 
gestion  acted  on  our  principles  like  a  poison.  Thus,  if  we 
come  to  Christ,  we  come,  with  weakened,  unstrung  characters  : 
“  we  are  made  to  possess  the  sins  of  our  youth.”  The  princi¬ 
pal  struggle  of  the  young  Christian  is  with  sins  that  have 
grown  rampant,  or  with  bad  habits  of  thought  contracted  in 
the  time  of  his  folly. 

In  circumstances  like  these,  how  great  is  the  blessing  which 
Christ  has  ready  for  us, — of  a  society  where  we  may  be  safe 
from  a  large  part  of  our  temptations  !  We  have  their  sympa¬ 
thy.  u  There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you,”  saitli  St.  Paul, 
“but  such  as  is  common  to  man.”  They  have  fought  on  the 


12 


same  ground,  they  have  stories  to  tell  of  wounds  and  victories, 
they  have  encouragements  for  the  desponding  combatant.  The 
friends  of  our  period  of  sin  are  generally  glad  when  we  run 
with  them  to  the  same  excess  of  riot,  for  they  need  our 
countenance  and  support ;  but  the  friends  who  welcome  us  to 
their  Christian  society,  rejoice  in  our  success, — have  support 
to  give,  and  when  we  fall  help  us  to  rise. 

Another  good  of  this  kind,  to  be  secured  by  union  with 
Christ’s  Church,  is  progress  in  Christian  virtue.  Christian 
virtue  is  morality  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term,  or  love  to 
God  and  man  dwelling  in  the  heart,  and  expressing  itself  in  all 
right  and  useful  actions.  To  secure  this  virtue  there  is  a  store¬ 
house  of  motives  drawn  from  the  love  of  God  in  Christ,  such 
as  exist  and  influence  men  nowhere  else.  These  motives, 
under  the  superintendence  of  a  divine  spirit,  secure  a  high 
standard  of  character,  a  multitude  of  bright  examples,  an 
amount  of  joy  and  peace  strangely  great  for  this  world.  If 
now,  without  some  divine  command,  the  members  of  this 
society  should  separate  and  live  each  for  himself  without  a 
thought  for  his  neighbor, — should  live  for  instance  an  ascetic 
life  of  solitary  contemplation,  they  might  be  perhaps  virtuous 
and  godly ;  but  how  much  of  the  power  of  love,  of  friendship, 
of  example,  of  mutual  support  in  manifold  ways,  would  be 
lost.  The  individual,  for  his  perfection,  must  live  in  society  ; 
the  Christian  for  his  perfection,  must  live  in  the  fellowship  of 
saints. 

We  invite  you  then,  say  the  true  followers  of  Christ,  to  enter 
our  society,  because  you  shall  not  only  be  safe,  but  shall 
abound  also  in  facilities  for  your  religious  improvement.  We 
are,  if  sincere,  the  salt  of  the  world ;  Tve  are  organized  to 
glorify  our  Father  in  Heaven.  Help  us  in  the  work  of  Christ, 
partake  of  our  spirit  of  devotion  to  the  service  of  God  and  the 
welfare  of  man,  come  within  the  reach  of  all  that  which  cheers 
and  purifies  our  communion  ;  thus,  and  thus  only,  can  you  at¬ 
tain  to  true  goodness. 

III.  I  have  time  to  turn  for  a  moment  only  to  the  last  con¬ 
sideration  by  which  the  invitation  of  the  text  is  enforced:  “for 
the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning  Israel.”  This  brother- 


13 


hood  of  Christians,  which  is  journeying  to  a  commanded 
place — which  has  an  organization  able  to  do  such  great  good  to 
those  who  join  it,  is  also  marching  under  great  and  pre 
cious  promises,  as  under  so  many  joyful  banners.  The  jour¬ 
ney,  the  result,  are  not  left  to  the  spirit  of  the  society,  but  God 
hath  spoken — hath  promised  good  concerning  the  followers  of 
his  Son.  Look  with  me  for  a  moment  at  three  of  the  most 
comprehensive  of  His  promises,  which  contain  and  convey  good 
beyond  calculation.  He  hath  promised  pardon.  In  the  death 
of  his  Son  he  proclaims  the  free  remission  of  our  sins,  deliver¬ 
ance  from  condemnation,  a  state  of  acceptance  before  Him, 
and  thus  the  foundation  for  a  trustful  and  hopeful  life.  What 
good  can  come  to  you  without  pardon  ;  and  if  you  lie  under 
the  curse  of  unforgiven  sin,  will  not  all  blessings,  all  knowl¬ 
edge  be  steeped  in  gall?  He  hath  promised  strength ,  the  pres¬ 
ent  aid  of  the  spirit  of  his  Son — called  the  Spirit  of  promise — 
in  which  is  comprised  rich  and  most  manifold  good ; — light 
for  the  ignorant,  advance  in  holiness  for  the  sinful,  support  for 
the  weak,  comfort  for  the  desponding,  joy  in  affliction,  hope  in 
fear,  transmutation  of  all  seeming  evils  into  blessings.  He 
hath  promised  also  success  ;  of  which  indeed  the  present  spirit 
is  an  earnest.  This  success  in  its  completeness  is  salvation — 
ultimate  and  everlasting  deliverance  from  sin,  joy  in  the  favor 
and  work  of  God,  rest  in  the  spiritual  body  and  spiritual 
companionship  of  heaven.  Are  not  these  great  and  precious 
promises  indeed,  worth  the  attempt  to  secure  them,  and  are  not 
the  members  of  Christ’s  true  Church,  to  whom  they  are 
pledged,  blessed  indeed  ? 

And  now,  my  friends,  what  answer  will  you  return  when  in 
the  name  of  Christ’s  disciples  I  ask  you  to  join  this  fellowship, 
which,  all  imperfect  as  it  is,  contains  whatever  is  most  good 
and  true  within  its  pale,  and  has  such  glorious  hopes  for  com¬ 
ing  time  ?  Some,  I  trust,  are  ready  to  say,  we  hope  to  partake 
of  the  blessings  of  this  society  even  as  we  believe  that  we  have 
joined  the  Lord  in  a  private  covenant  never  to  be  forgotten. 
But  another  will  say  I  have  no  interest  in  the  principles  or 
relish  for  the  employments  of  the  Christian  Church.  I  have 
my  plan  of  life  which  is  inconsistent  with  its  requirements, 


14 


and  which  I  cannot  relinquish.  Another  still  will  say,  safety 
and  virtue  can  he  found  in  other  paths.  I  mean  to  reach 
heaven  without  help  of  Christian  people,  by  a  road  of  my  own. 
And  another  still  will  say,  I  mean  to  he  a  Christian  before  I  die 
and  to  have  all  the  blessings  which  Christ  has  promised,  to¬ 
gether  with  all  those  which  I  can  reap  from  a  worldly  life. 
Well,  my  friends,  if  such  is  your  settled  purpose,  we  must 
part ;  we  cannot  give  up  our  Leader  or  our  mode  of  life,  or  our 
hopes.  We  are  now  together  at  a  point  in  the  road  where 
several  paths  diverge.  God  grant  that  after  trying  one  of 
them  you  may  find  us  on  our  way  again  before  night  fall.  But 
while  you  are  leaving  us  in  purpose,  and  before  the  voices  of 
farewell  and  entreaty  lose  themselves  in  the  distance,  before 
forests  and  floods  intervene,  we  pray  you  to  reflect  that  a  man 
cannot  go  to  heaven  when  he  will,  or  as  he  will ;  that  perad- 
venture  you  may  find  that  God  will  not  welcome  you,  or  that 
you  cannot  be  happy  in  the  Church  in  heaven,  whose  temper 
and  principles  on  earth  you  refused  to  adopt. 


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